My Little AJ
by FreddysNightmare1984
Summary: my version of the My Little Dashie story, but with Applejack. what happens when a Brony finds his favorite pony as a filly? written for my dad, whose favorite pony is Applejack.


**Hey y'all, what's up? I've got another oneshot for you, but this is no ordinary oneshot. this is a oneshot that I've been working on for several months now. and I wrote it for my dad because his favorite pony is Applejack. my friend Sara (PerryRocks- Wolf Warrior) gave me the basic idea and the two of us have been working on the project for a long time and we're finally done! the story was inspired by the beautiful MLP story My Little Dashie. i'm sure most of you know that story, but if you don't, I suggest you look it up,. it's one of the best stories I've ever read. but anyway, after I gave a copy of the story to my dad, I decided to post it here as well to share with others. so I really hope you enjoy the story. special thanks to my best friend Sara, if it weren't for you, i might never have even written this. and thanks for all your help with writing certain parts of the story that I was stuck on. I love you! and of course special thanks to my dad, the person I wrote this for in the first place. enjoy the story everyone!**

**DISCLAIMER: I _do not_ own MLP: FIM or any of it's characters. i only own Jillian, Christian, Tigger, Daisy, and the dad**

* * *

It was just another normal day for me. And my normal days are never very exciting. A lot of young people think that once you're retired, you pretty much have all the freedom you want. This is true, but the problem for me has always been figuring out what to do with all that "freedom". In a nutshell, being retired isn't all it may seem to some. It can actually be quite boring at times. But I couldn't complain, I had a pretty good life. I lived on the outskirts of a small town on 2 1/2 wonderful acres. 2 1/2 acres was more then enough for me and my animals. My little family consisted of an orange and white tabby cat named Tigger, turkeys, ducks, several chickens, and some goats. I suppose you could call my little place a farm, although my daughter and I jokingly refer to my place as "the zoo". And then one day something happened, something that I never in a million years expected would ever happen to me.

I walked out of my house ready to go into town and buy some more chicken feed, since I was almost out. I glanced up at the sky, which was starting to turn a light shade of grey. I knew that the forecast called for some rain later that day, so I wanted to hurry and get the feed before the rain set in. I got in my white pickup and drove off down the road, all the while thinking of my daughter's last visit. My 20 year old daughter, Jillian, visited me as often as she could, which was usually a few times a month. The last time I'd seen her, she'd been excited to show me a new television program that she'd been watching. My daughter might've been 20 years old, but that didn't stop her from watching the occasional cartoon. And she had all too eagerly showed me her newest favorite, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Now I remembered My Little Pony from Jillian's youth... she was always fond of the pink ponies. After watching the show for a bit, one pony stuck out from all the others, at least to me she did; Applejack, the orange earth pony. Something about her caught my attention as soon as I saw her. It felt strange at the time, but I felt as though I had some sort of a connection with her. There was just something about her that stood out from the other ponies. Of course I liked them all, but Applejack was instantly my favorite. And ever since that day, I watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as often as I could. At first I felt a little silly for loving a kid's show so much, but before long, I became aware of a part of the show's fan base called "the Brony". Well, I guess its official... I have become a Brony.

Well on that particular cloudy day, I was driving to the feed store, trying my best to beat the rain. _"That's all I need, to get caught in a downpour"_ I thought sarcastically as I parked in the parking lot of the feed store. I wasn't in there five minutes before I heard a light rain hitting the roof. "Great" I grumbled as I hoisted the bag of feed onto my shoulder and quickly made my way to my truck. Not wanting the bag to get wet, and thus ruin the feed, I put the bag in the backseat and quickly got into the drivers seat, shaking rainwater from my hair as I closed the door and shoved the key into the ignition, starting up the truck and driving cautiously onto the now slick, wet road. I turned on my headlights and drove slowly, thankful that the road wasn't very busy. I sighed, turning on the windshield wipers as the rain picked up even more. I only got about a mile down the road when I noticed a big cardboard box sitting in a ditch. The box was quite large, the type that a big TV would come packaged in. I thought nothing of it and kept driving. Suddenly I jumped, nearly skidding off the road. The box... it had moved, I was sure of it. "Is there something alive in there?" I thought, hesitating as I brought the truck to a stop. I sighed, shaking my head. My mind was playing tricks on me. I knew perfectly well that there were cruel people in the world, but would someone really be cruel enough to put a living creature in a cardboard box and leave it in a ditch, in the pouring rain no less? A glance in my rearview mirror confirmed my suspicions. Yes, there was most certainly something _alive_ in that box. Sighing, I pulled up the collar of my denim jacket and turned the truck off, not wanting to waste the battery just sitting there. I opened the door and got out, my boots squishing on the wet grass. I walked over to the box, hesitant. I slowly got down on my knees and peered inside. What I saw was a complete, absolute shock. There, inside the sagging box, was a small creature, about the size of a year old Beagle. It shivered in the cold, so I knew it wasn't a stuffed animal. It was getting dark out, so I quickly went to my truck and grabbed my flashlight. I went back over to the box and knelt back down by it, turning the flashlight on and shining it inside. I nearly dropped the flashlight in shock at what I saw. A small orange pony was curled up in a tight ball. It looked to be just a baby, not very old at all. _"It... it looks like..."_ I thought. But it couldn't be, it just could not be... I leaned closer, studying the small creature. It had a long blond mane and tail, both of which were shaggy and unkempt, and weren't held back by hair ties. Her flank was bare, so if this really _was_ the pony I thought it was, then she hadn't received her Cutie Mark yet. My heart was racing fast as I stared at her, at a loss for words. _"This can't be happening"_ I thought to myself. I looked around. There were no houses in sight, and no one was driving down the road from either direction. I sighed and looked down at the filly, startled when she slowly opened her big, emerald green eyes and looked up at me. As soon as our eyes met, I felt as though a spark of electricity jolted through my entire body. There was something about this little filly... sighing again, I slowly stood up, still leaning over the box. I hesitated a second before I slowly reached my hand out to her. Her eyes widened and she whimpered, scrambling backwards, obviously frightened. But the cardboard box was sagging very low from the rain, and suddenly fell apart when she leaned against it. I gasped and leaned down, picking her up. She cried out and struggled in my grip. "Its a-all right" I stammered, trying my best to calm her. I staggered toward the truck, still holding the squirming filly in my arms, and managed to get my door open and get into the pickup, shutting the door and quickly pressing the 'lock all doors' button. I sighed as she continued to squirm. I talked quietly to her and after a few minutes, she became still. I sighed, shivering a bit, since I was soaked from the rain. I slowly set the filly in the passenger seat, slipping off my jacket and tucking it around her. She seemed scared of the jacket at first, but soon settled down in the seat and laid her chin on the armrest, looking up at me sleepily. I sighed, hesitantly reaching toward her. She stiffened a little as I stroked her head, but relaxed a bit once she realized I meant her no harm. I shook my head as I started the motor and continued my drive home. Home... what the heck was I going to do once I got home?

_"Okay, just calm down"_ I tried to tell myself as I drove off down the road after sitting in the truck for a few minutes, my mind reeling. _"After all, it's no big deal. You just have a fictional orange pony in your passenger seat that's most likely a figment of your imagination... nothing weird about that"_ yeah, the conversation in my head wasn't helping. The more I tried to stay calm, the more I wondered what was going on. Why was the filly here? How did she get here? _Why_ is she here? Does she really exist or am I just simply losing my mind? I sighed, lightly hitting my head against the wheel in frustration. When I lifted my head, I felt eyes on me. I turned and saw that the filly had her head up and was staring at me. She didn't really look afraid anymore, only curious. "I bet you're as curious about me as I am about you, huh?" I said. She only blinked, tilting her head slightly like a curious dog. I sighed again, shaking my head as I finally spotted my house up ahead. The rain had let up a bit, something that I was thankful for. I pulled up by the house and turned the truck off, slipping the keys into my pocket and glancing over at the filly, who had laid back down and snuggled into my jacket. I got out of the truck and quickly walked around to the other side, opening the passenger door and slowly picking her up. She squeaked a bit, but didn't squirm as much as before. I glanced around, even though I knew no one could possibly see us. My house is on a hill surrounded by beautiful countryside, and the closest neighbors are four miles down the road. After checking that the coast was clear, I quickly went up the back porch steps, fumbling to get my keys back out of my pocket. Once I had the door open, my cat Tigger ran toward me, meowing and winding around my legs. Tigger was a stray that Jillian had found a few years earlier. He was more Jillian's cat then mine, but since Jillian's roommate, Sasha, was allergic to cats, Tigger had to live with me. He was curious about the bundle in my arms, but I was hesitant to lean down and let him sniff at the filly. I couldn't be sure how he'd react. "Hold on Tigger" I said, setting my keys on the key keeper hanging by the back door and slowly going into the living room. I sat in my recliner, looking down at the filly. She sat up in my lap, looking around with her big, expressive green eyes. I sighed, leaning down and slowly stroking her mane. "Why are you here?" I said quietly, not expecting an answer, though I couldn't help but say it out loud. I had a feeling that this filly was here for a reason. What that reason was, I had no idea. But I was anxious to find out.

...

It was the next day when Jillian discovered the filly. I had fallen asleep in my bed watching TV, leaving the filly curled up on my recliner, still wrapped in my denim jacket. I awoke when something was nudging my hand. Blinking and still half asleep, I slowly leaned over the edge of my bed to see the filly standing there, looking up at me expectantly. "What?" I asked groggily. I wondered if she might be hungry or something. I sighed and slowly got out of bed, shivering a little as my bare feet came in contact with the cold hardwood floor. I then went into the kitchen, brushing a hand through my messy dark hair. The little filly trotted along behind me. Tigger was sleeping on the back of the couch, which was up against the windows where the morning light was pouring in, making it the ideal sleeping spot for a cat. To my surprise, Tigger had been a little afraid of the filly the evening before, and the only thing he dared to do was cautiously bat at her hoof with his paw. But after a while, he seemed to sense that she wasn't dangerous and now he could care less about her. As I opened the fridge door, I frowned. "What do I even feed you?" I asked, looking down at the filly. She blinked, standing there staring up at me. A knock on the back door made me jump.

"Dad?" a voice said.

"_Oh no"_ I thought. It was Jillian. I looked down at the little filly again. I knew that if I could trust anyone with the knowledge of her existence, it was Jillian, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to let her in on the secret quite yet.

"Dad, are you in there?" Jillian sounded a bit worried now as she knocked on the door again.

"Uh... j-just a minute sweetheart!" I called, hastily leaning down and scooping the filly up in my arms. "I'll be right there" I went back into my bedroom and set the filly down on the bed. "_Stay!_" I said, as though she was a dog I was trying to train to stay on command. She just sat there, blinking. I sighed as Jillian knocked yet again. "Jillian, I'm coming!" I called, a little snippier then I'd intended. I turned back to the filly. "_Stay_" I repeated, then I went out and closed the door behind me, quickly making my way to the back door. As soon as it was open, Jillian was slipping past me into the house.

"Dad, what's going on?" she asked, looking around suspiciously, then turning to me. "Is everything okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, of course, everything's fine" I said quickly, a little too quickly.

Jillian blinked. She wasn't stupid, and I knew by the look on her face that she knew I wasn't telling her the whole story. "What are you hiding dad? You look nervous"

"Nervous?" I echoed, forcing a smile. "I'm fine sweetheart, really. I was..."

Thump!

A thump made Jillian jump a bit. "What was _that?_"

"Nothing"

The look on my daughter's face told me she wasn't buying it. "Dad, what's in there?"

Thump!

Another thump was heard as something hit my bedroom door. "Is... is someone in there?" Jillian asked, sounding surprised. Jillian's mother had died when she was 2, and I had never remarried, or even had a girlfriend. So I understood her shock at the thought of someone being in my room.

"Uh..." I sighed. It seemed as though the jig was up. "Okay Jill, I'll show you..."

"_Good_, because I'm going to find out what's going on around here" Jillian interrupted, grabbing the doorknob and starting to turn it.

I quickly grabbed her arm. "_Wait_" she stopped and looked at me. I hesitated. "Before you open that door, just... just promise me you won't freak out, okay? _Please_ try to stay calm"

Jillian rolled her eyes, laughing. "Dad, I think I can handle it"

I sighed and let go of her arm. _"That's what you think"_ I thought to myself as Jillian turned the knob and opened the door.

"How... how is this possible?" Jillian was sitting in the recliner and I was on the couch, the filly sitting beside me.

"I don't know" I said, shrugging. It was about ten minutes after Jillian opened the door to find the filly standing there in my bedroom doorway and about five minutes since I'd explained how I'd found her.

"This is weird, this is really _weird_" Jillian said, shaking her head.

"Jill, you realize we can't tell anyone about this"

She nodded. "Of course, that's obvious. We can't trust _anyone_, not when it comes to Applejack"

My heart skipped a beat. I had been referring to the filly as, well, 'the filly'. I hadn't truly accepted the fact that this truly, absolutely was Applejack. "You really think we should call her Applejack?" I asked, feeling ridiculous as soon as the words left my mouth.

Jillian nodded. "Yeah, might as well start calling her that now. Isn't it obvious that it's really her?"

"Yeah, _too_ obvious" I mumbled.

"Dad, can I stay here for the night?"

I looked up at Jillian. She hadn't stayed overnight at my house since the day she moved into the apartment she shared with Sasha, which had been three years earlier. "Uh, yeah, of course Jillian"

"I want to stay and help you out"

I frowned. "Help me out?"

"With Applejack of course!" Jillian said, smiling. "Look at her mane, it could use a good brushing, and so could her tail" I chuckled a little, shaking my head as Jillian picked Applejack up and carried her into the bathroom next to her old bedroom. I could hear her talking to the filly as she got out a hairbrush and got to work untangling the filly's mane and tail. I felt a little better now, knowing that I wasn't the only one keeping the secret about Applejack.

...

Once you retire, time seems to just fly by. Days come and go, weeks turn to months, and sometimes it seems like life passes by in one big blur. And the last three months have been simply amazing. Jillian had practically moved back in with me, convinced that I needed help raising Applejack. Applejack, our little miracle pony. That's what Jill and I liked to call her. The little orange pony had brought so much joy and happiness into our lives in such a short amount of time. What amazed me was that, after only those few months, Applejack was already starting to speak. Not full words of course, but she was trying her best to make sounds and say little things. I'll never forget the day that I truly began to think of her as a family member. Jillian had Applejack on the kitchen countertop and was talking baby talk to her. "You are so adorable, yes you are!" Applejack was cooing and giggling and making other usual baby noises. Then I had walked in from the office, which was just the room I kept my computer in. Applejack's eyes lit up as soon as she saw me. "Da!" I stopped in my tracks, my heart beating hard in my chest.

"Dad, did you hear that?" Jillian gasped.

I nodded slowly. _"She can't be trying to say... what I think she's trying to say"_ I thought to myself as I slowly walked over to the filly.

She got more excited the closer I got to her. "Da!" she squealed, laughing and nudging my hand when I reached out and stroked her neck. Jillian smiled and put her hand on my shoulder. I hadn't heard that word since, well, since Jillian was a baby just learning to speak. Tears streamed down my face as she uttered out "Da da!" at that moment I realized that I cared for Applejack as more then just a pony, more then just a member of the family... I cared for her like a daughter.

...

Work around the farm was much easier with Applejack around. Two years ago she had asked me about helping out outside with the chores. I was surprised, pleasantly so, when she inquired about helping out. "It's only fair Daddy" she had said when I'd asked her if she was really sure she wanted to do some farm work. And boy was she good at it. She and I got the animals fed in no time at all, and the field work was a lot easier now that I had AJ to help me. AJ was what Jillian and I had started to call Applejack four years ago, not long after she'd started talking. Four years, sometimes it was hard for me to believe it had been that long. Jillian and I both agreed that Applejack was the best thing that had happened to us in a long time. And I had something I never thought I would ever have... I had another daughter. Applejack had always called me 'Daddy', ever since she was able to say whole words. At first I had been surprised. After all, AJ was an intelligent young filly, and she was well aware of the difference between her species and mine and Jillian's. So I at first found it odd that she referred to me as 'Daddy', even though she was well aware that she was adopted. Yes, adopted was the term Jillian and I used to describe how AJ became part of the family. But deep down in my heart I knew it wasn't always going to be this way. Every day I'd worry that I would wake up the next morning and Applejack would be gone, or Twilight Sparkle or one of the other ponies would be there, waiting to take her away, back to Equestria where I knew AJ truly belonged. But after a while, after four amazing years, I forced the thoughts to the back of my mind. I was not going to let negative thoughts ruin my time with my daughters. I was just going to live my life and enjoy it. No matter what I was afraid might happen in the future.

...

At Five years old, I was certain that Applejack was at her full, adult mare height. She stood about three feet, four inches tall, and had the adult voice that had gradually appeared over the last year and a half. I knew of course that she was now however old she was on the show, but I had no clue exactly what age that was, so I had just started over, making the day I found her her first birthday. I was so proud of my AJ, she was a wonderful addition to the family. And she had finally gotten her Cutie Mark, something she'd been hoping for ever since Jillian and I had explained to her what it was. It had been a year earlier that it happened, not long before her fourth birthday. Every year, ever since Jillian was little, we would go out to the old apple tree near the bottom of the hill and pick the apples. We had always eaten a lot of apples at our house, and I wasn't really surprised when Applejack discovered her love of apples as well. After all, from watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I knew that apples were what she was all about. So, naturally, she had wanted to help us when we went apple picking. "Please, can I go with you and Jilly, _please_ daddy?" Jillian had giggled at the nickname Applejack had given her.

I smiled and nodded. "Sure, come on AJ"

"_yay!_" the filly had cheered. One thing I had always found cute was Applejack's voice when she was a filly. She had sounded almost exactly like Apple Bloom, but with a slightly deeper tone.

"Let's load up then girls" I said, and Jillian and Applejack followed me out to the pickup, AJ jumping up into the pickup bed.

"_Wow_" Applejack said when we got down the hill to the tree. "There sure are a lot of apples on that tree"

I chuckled and nodded. Yep, there sure are Applejack" Jillian got a ladder out of the bed of the truck and leaned it up against the tree, making sure it was stable enough for her to climb up it. Then, after placing the collecting baskets beneath the tree, she climbed up and started picking the apples. I went and got the other ladder and followed suit.

We picked apples for about thirty seconds before a cute, slightly agitated voice called up, "_hey!_"

Jillian and I stopped and looked down. "What's the matter Applejack?" Jillian asked.

"I want to help too!"

I could hear the determination in the young earth pony's voice. "Well sweetie, just let me pick a few more apples, then you can have my ladder, okay?" I said.

Applejack sighed and nodded. "Okay daddy"

After I picked the apples, I climbed back down to the ground. "Okay AJ, let's get you up there"

Applejack nodded and started up the ladder. She stopped suddenly, frowning. I instantly realized what the problem was and mentally kicked myself for not thinking ahead of time. "I... I _can't_" AJ said slowly, her ears drooping down. "I... I can't climb up" she angrily tapped the ladder with her hoof. "I don't have hands like you and Sissy. I-I can't climb..." she sighed and sat down by the ladder, looking crestfallen.

"Don't worry Applejack..." I started.

"I want to _help!_" there was that determination again. I sighed. I knew she'd be able to do it if she could reach the apples. I didn't want to tell her no, she couldn't help, because that would just upset her more. I tried to think back to the show, tried to remember how she'd gotten the apples then. But it had been so long since I'd watched the show (I hadn't seen it since I'd adopted AJ), I couldn't quite remember how she did it.

Jillian climbed down the ladder, frowning. "Don't worry Applejack, we'll find some way for you to help" the filly sighed, her ears still drooping and hopelessness in her eyes.

I bit my lip and knelt down by her. "Applejack?" she slowly looked up at me. "What's the one thing I always taught you about situations like this?" the filly sighed ad didn't look like she wanted to say anything. "AJ" I said with a slightly stern tone.

"n-never give up" she mumbled.

"That's right" I said, nodding. "Sure you can't climb up the ladder, but you shouldn't let that stop you from trying to find a way to pick apples with us, right?"

Applejack blinked, staring at me with those beautiful emerald eyes. "Yes daddy"

I smiled a little. "So you shouldn't let this small setback get you down kiddo" I ruffled her forelock affectionately, making her giggle a little.

"Hmm..." Applejack looked up at the tree. I could practically hear the gears working in her head as she thought. And that afternoon she tried various ways to get the apples down. She tried throwing stuff at them, but she only knocked two apples down and nearly hit Jillian a couple times. Let's just say AJ didn't quite have the greatest aim at the time. She tried jumping up as high as she could to pull them off the tree, but even though she could jump pretty high, she just couldn't seem to get high enough. After about an hour, she stopped trying and just stood there, looking frustrated. "_Dang it!_" she stomped her hoof on the ground. I noticed some of the apples vibrated a bit. And then I remembered the way she got the apples down in the show.

My eyes widened. _"Of course!"_ I thought. I wanted badly to say something, not liking my daughter being so discouraged. But I stayed silent, wanting to see if she'd figure it out on her own. She stood up, staring intently up at the apples. She slowly walked under the tree and I could tell by the look on her face that she had an idea. She stood up on her hind legs and hit the tree with her front hooves. The tree shook and several apples fell to the ground. But there were still many of them in the tree. And even though there were more then enough apples scattered on the grass, it just wasn't good enough for Applejack. With a look of determination, she turned around with her rump facing the tree, reared up and kicked the trunk with her hind legs as hard as she could. I felt the ground beneath me shake a bit as the rest of the apples fell to the ground.

Applejack blinked, looking surprised. "I... I did it... _I DID IT!_" she cried, laughing and jumping around happily. "Daddy, did you see that? _Did you!_"

I laughed and nodded and Jillian knelt down and hugged her sister. "Great job AJ!"

I walked over and hugged her too. "I'm so proud of you Applejack. You didn't give up, you kept trying until..." my eyes widened and I nudged Jillian.

She looked too and smiled. "AJ!" she said, nodding toward something.

Applejack looked behind her just as three red apples appeared on her flank, forming a triangular pattern. "MY CUTIE MARK!" Applejack cried, whooping and bucking happily. "I _FINALLY_ GOT IT!" she tackled me and Jillian in a hug and the three of us laid there in the grass, laughing. And then, one year later, Applejack cut our apple harvest time in half. We'd imported several more apple trees into our field to give her more to work with, and every year after that, we had more apples then we knew what to do with. I'm so proud of my little AJ. She's like a blessing that I will forever be grateful for. But sometimes that nagging feeling gnawed at my mind, the feeling that Applejack's time here was coming to a close.

"_No, don't think that way"_ I told myself. _"AJ isn't going anywhere"_

I knew better then to give myself false hope, but in my mind, it was better to do that then to give into the realization that Applejack most likely wasn't going to be with us forever.

...

I couldn't believe that it was going on 10 years since I discovered that small orange filly in a cardboard box. 10 wonderful years that I wouldn't trade for anything. And I know Jillian wouldn't either. Applejack was the center of our world and we loved her more then anything. She was so much fun and such a big help around the farm. I couldn't imagine my life without her. One day she and I were out feeding the animals, me with a bandana tied around my forehead Rambo style to keep sweat from my eyes. AJ had her mane (and tail) tied back with hair ties, looking just like she did in the show (minus the cowboy hat). She sighed, wiping her forehead with her hoof. "Man, it sure is hot out today"

I nodded. "It sure is AJ"

"Can we take a break daddy?"

"Sure kiddo" we finished feeding the chickens and went and sat on the back porch. Applejack kept fanning herself with her hoof. "Hot AJ?"

She nodded. "Yeah"

"I'll go get us some lemonade" I got up and went inside, pouring two glasses of lemonade. As I was heading outside, I stopped. There on my old hat rack was my cowboy hat. It was an old brown hat that I'd had for about 30 years. It had been my dad's hat and I was pretty sure it had been his dad's hat before him. Smiling to myself, I took the hat off the rack and went back outside with the lemonade, setting a glass on the table in front of the chair Applejack was sitting in. "here you go honey"

"Thanks daddy" AJ said, taking a swig of lemonade.

"You're welcome. Oh, and here" I reached out and put the cowboy hat on her head. Instantly it changed to look exactly like that hat AJ wore on the show. I blinked, surprised.

Applejack took the hat off, studying it. "What's the hat for daddy?"

"Well I saw how hot you were out there, figured a hat might help shade you a little" I grinned. "Plus you look adorable"

Applejack blushed. "Dad-_dy!_" she said, embarrassed.

"What, it's true" Applejack just rolled her eyes. _"Typical daughter"_ I thought. _"Getting embarrassed by her father"_ I sighed and sat down in a chair next to AJ's.

"Thanks for the hat daddy, I really like it"

"No problem. That was your grandfather's hat you know"

Applejack liked that. "Really?" her eyes lit up a little.

I nodded. "Yep, and I'm pretty sure it was _his_ father's before him"

"I'll be sure to take good care of it daddy"

"I know you will Applejack" I said, ruffling her forelock.

She giggled. "_Daddy!_" she quickly smoothed out her forelock.

I snickered.

"What are you two snickering about?"

AJ and I turned to see Jillian walking toward us.

"Hey sis!" Applejack said, smiling.

"I thought I heard a car pull up" I said, getting up and hugging my other daughter. Jillian smiled. She'd moved back in with her roommate Sasha five years earlier, and now visited AJ and me a couple times a month.

"Nice hat AJ" Jillian said.

Applejack smiled proudly. "Thanks, daddy said it was grandpa's"

"I thought it looked familiar" Jillian smiled. "It looks really good on you"

Applejack giggled. Now her look was complete. But it truly didn't matter to me how she looked. I loved her just the way she was.

I'll never forget the day she found out... the day she discovered where she'd really come from. Jillian and I had talked about it before and we'd agreed that we would tell Applejack about My Little Pony, but only when we felt she'd be old enough to understand. I had always wondered what her reaction would be once we told her. After all, we'd never planned on keeping it a secret forever. But I guess over the years, we forgot to tell her. We didn't think of her as the Applejack from the show, we thought of her as _our_ Applejack, the mare we'd raised since she was a filly. So it never really occurred to us anymore to tell her, we had distanced ourselves form the truth for so long. But that day made me wish that we'd told her long ago. Jillian and I had gone to the store to pick up some food for movie night. Once in a while when Jillian would spend a weekend with me and AJ, we would have a movie night. And we always had popcorn, _lots_ of popcorn. You'd be surprised how much popcorn a man, a woman, and a young mare can eat. On this particular night, we happened to be completely out of popcorn, so Jillian and I went to the store to pick some up. I felt guilty, as I always did when we had to go somewhere without Applejack. After all, she was just as much my daughter as Jillian was, and I hated the thought that I could freely take my older daughter out in public with me, but my other daughter was stuck at home. I knew it was for her own good, we couldn't risk anyone seeing her, not _ever_. Of course Applejack understood this and tried to act like it was no big deal, but I could tell by the look in her eyes whenever Jillian and I had to leave that she longed to go with us. "Dad, she'll be fine" Jillian said as we got in the truck to go to town.

"I know Jill, but I always feel guilty when we have to leave her behind"

"I know, I do too. But she understands and, honestly, I think she might enjoy having the house to herself for a bit. I know I used to like it" I sighed and nodded, and I had to admit that it was kind of nice to just ride along and have some quality time with my oldest daughter. I couldn't remember the last time we'd done something, just the two of us. So by the time we bought the popcorn (and a few fresh apples for AJ), I was in good spirits, not having any inkling of what was going on in the house. Jillian opened the back door, where Tigger came running over to greet us, meowing and winding around our legs as we walked inside. Our other cat, Daisy, the newest addition to our family, didn't move from her spot on my recliner. She only lifted her head to look at us through her half closed eyes and laid her head back down again. "Ungrateful little beast" Jillian mumbled, smiling as she ruffled the former stray's fur.

"Applejack, we're home sweetie!" I called. Applejack wasn't in her room or my room, and just when I was starting to wonder where she was, I heard it. Those words I never thought I'd hear again:

"Come on big brother, you need to rest up and get yourself better. I haven't met an apple orchard _yet_ that I couldn't handle!"

my heart nearly stopped beating and Jillian looked worriedly at me as we went into the living room. Applejack was sitting on the couch, staring expressionlessly at the TV screen. I didn't need to look at the screen to know what she was watching. _"How... how is she even watching this?"_ I thought to myself as the familiar Applebuck Season episode played before my eyes. I was always so careful about what AJ watched, and I _never_ let her watch the Hub channel, not _ever_.

"A-Applejack..." Jillian started, but Applejack pushed the mute button on the remote and turned to us, the expression crossing her face making my heart shatter.

"How long?" she asked in a low, accusative tone.

"Honey, just let us explain..." I started, but again, my daughter interrupted.

"How long have y'all known about this! What... what _is_ this? Is that... is that pony _me?_ Or should I even be asking?" she narrowed her eyes at us, and I nearly started crying at the untrusting look in her eyes. "How do I know y'all won't lie to me?"

"Applejack, _please_..." Jillian started, looking not too far from an emotional outburst herself.

"I want to know the _truth!_" Applejack yelled, jumping up from the couch and startling the cats, making them run off in different directions. "But I don't think I can trust y'all to tell me the truth...!" tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't believe you kept this from me!" Applejack yelled, obvious betrayal in her voice.

"A-AJ..." I stammered.

"_Don't_ call me that!" she yelled. "I... I _HATE_ YOU, _BOTH OF YOU!_" before Jillian or I could say anything, Applejack shot out the back door and galloped off.

"Applejack, wait!" Jillian yelled, running to the back door with tears streaming down her face. She started after her sister, but I grabbed her arm.

"Jill, wait..."

"We have to go after her dad!"

"_I'm_ going after her" I said.

"But dad...!"

"Stay here Jillian, in case she comes back"

"But dad, I want to..."

"Jillian, _stay here_" I said sternly. Jillian sighed and nodded, tears streaming down her face. I pulled her into a tight hug. "We'll get her back honey, don't worry" Jillian nodded against my shoulder, hugging me back. I gave her a sad smile and headed off for the woods behind the house, where Applejack had run off to. At least, I thought she'd run off toward the woods. It was hard to tell because it was already a little dark out. In about 30 minutes or so it would be pitch black outside. "_Please_ don't be too far Applejack" I mumbled as I entered the woods, the thick trees making it seem even darker once I was in among the trees. "Applejack!" I called, cupping my hands around my mouth. "Applejack, honey! Please answer me! _Please!_" I walked along through the woods, calling Applejack's name every few yards, hoping, _praying_ that she heard me and would respond. "Applejack!" I called, feeling my heart pounding hard in my chest, tears welling up in my eyes. After about 15 minutes, my feet were starting to hurt, I could barely see cause of the dark, and a light rain had started to fall. It wasn't so bad at first because the trees were keeping most of the rain out, but it didn't take long for a downpour to start. "APPLEJACK!" I yelled, louder then id' ever yelled in my life. And then I couldn't hold it in anymore. I started to cry softly, letting the tears flow freely as I sat beneath a large tree, slumping back against the trunk. "I'm sorry Applejack" I whispered. "I'm _so_ sorry sweetheart" I sighed as the tears streamed down my face, mixing with the rain falling, falling harder now in a steady downpour. "I'm such a horrible father" I said, sniffing and rubbing my eyes.

"n-no you're not" a soft voice said. I barely heard it over the din of the rain, but I _definitely_ heard it.

"A-Applejack?" I looked up just in time to see an orange mare walking toward me, her cowboy hat sagging and her mane and tail in disarray. She was frowning and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and I could see that she'd been crying for a while. I swallowed hard and motioned for her to sit under the tree with me. She slowly walked over and sat beside me. "I'm sorry Applejack" I said, not able to meet her gaze. "I know we should have told you a long time ago. At first we were just going to wait until you were old enough to understand, but after a while... I guess I just sort of... forgot where you came from. I never saw a filly that I'd found one day and decided to take home" I slowly looked at her. "I always saw my daughter" I sighed and looked down at my muddy shoes. "Well, I'd better be getting back to Jillian..."

"I'm s-sorry I ran away" Applejack said softly.

"_No_, don't be sorry Applejack" I said, getting up and looking down at her. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I don't blame you for running away, I'm sure I would've done the same thing in your situation"

I was about to say more, when Applejack suddenly cried out, "oh daddy!" I fell to my knees as she tackled me, wrapping her front hooves around my neck in a tight hug. I immediately hugged back, crying again. We stayed that way for what felt like an eternity, and finally I pulled away and stood up.

"Shall we head home now kiddo?"

Applejack smiled a bit and nodded. "Yeah daddy" I nodded and leaned down and picked her up. She sighed and snuggled against me, laying her head on my shoulder. I smiled a bit, a few tears still falling down my face as I carried my daughter home. Jillian was sitting on the porch swing when we got back, and she ran to meet us where we joined together in a group hug. Then we all went inside and, after Applejack and I dried off, we decided to go ahead and have our movie night.

"What would you guys like to watch?" Jillian asked as she popped the popcorn. Applejack and I were sitting on the couch, blankets wrapped around us since we were still a little cold from the rain.

"Can we... can we watch the show?" Applejack asked slowly. I blinked, not understanding right away what she was talking about. Then I noticed that the Applebuck Season episode was still on pause. I'd forgotten all about it in my haste to find my daughter.

"Are you sure AJ?"

Applejack nodded slowly. "Yes daddy, I'm sure"

"Well Jill, I guess... I guess we're watching My Little Pony" Jillian looked unsure, but nodded, and once the popcorn was made and Jillian was settled on the couch with us, we started the episode over. Applejack asked us questions throughout, and I can't say I blamed her. She was extremely curious, and Jillian and I answered all her questions as best we could. After all, we owed it to her to tell her the truth. After the episode was over, she asked us about other episodes and about her role in the show. We all talked about it well into the night, and the girls ended up falling asleep on the couch, snuggled up against each other. I sighed and pulled the blankets up over them before heading off into my bedroom. I flopped down onto the mattress, Tigger and Daisy jumping up onto the bed with me. I sighed and petted them, their low purring relaxing me and quickly lulling me to sleep. The last thing I thought that night was how lucky I was to have such a close, wonderful family.

...

15 years... 15 amazing years. My daughters were growing up so fast. Jillian was 35 and had a job as a horseback riding instructor at the local stable. She loved it, especially when she got to work with kids. She also had a boyfriend, Christian. Applejack had yet to meet him, we were unsure if we were ready for him to know about her. Applejack, my dear, sweet AJ. She was all grown up and had pretty much taken over for me as far as tending to the farm went. I wasn't exactly a spring chicken, and I had given her full responsibility for the animals. She didn't mind, she loved farm work, although sometimes she complained about cleaning out the chicken coops. But she did her work well, and I even paid her for it. Of course she wasn't actually able to spend the money herself, Jillian or I always had to buy things for her, but I figured it made her feel proud and accomplished if she worked hard and got paid for it. It amazed me sometimes that Jillian and I had been blessed with such a wonderful young mare. I had quit trying to figure out Applejack's purpose here long ago. It didn't matter to me anymore why she was here or how exactly she'd gotten here. She was my daughter and I loved her with my whole heart.

One day I was excited. I called Jillian, my heart beating fast. "Hello?" from all the sound in the background, I guessed that Jillian was out somewhere.

"Hi sweetheart"

"Hey dad"

"Tell your dad I said hi!" I heard Christian say.

Jillian snickered. "Chris says hi dad"

I chuckled. "Tell him I said hi too"

"So to what do I owe this call?"

"Well I have something exciting to tell you"

"What is it?"

I smiled as I held the brochure in my hand. "I'm going to a rodeo next week"

"Really? That sounds fun dad"

"Yeah. I'm taking your sister with me"

"What?" Jillian suddenly sounded worried. "But dad, you know we can't..."

"Relax Jill, I have a plan" I said, knowing that Jillian would worry about her sister right off the bat. "AJ will be in the bed of the backseat of the truck the whole time" I explained. "and I have a blanket back there that she can hide under if anyone passes by the windows close enough to be able to see inside"

"I don't know dad..." Jillian sounded skeptical.

"Hey, you trust your old man, right?"

"So you admit you're old?"

I could practically hear the smirk on my oldest daughter's face. "Okay, your _young_ man then. You trust me, right?"

Jillian laughed. "Of course dad. And I'm sure she'll love the rodeo. Have fun"

"I will. I haven't told her about it yet, I'm going to surprise her"

"Great! Call me later and tell me her reaction"

I nodded. "Okay honey. Love you"

"Love you too dad. Bye"

I hung up my phone and smiled, heading for Applejack's room. She had decided to take a nap before we went to check on the animals. My smile widened when I saw her curled up on her bed, asleep. Her cowboy hat was hooked on one of the bedposts and Daisy was curled up asleep at the foot of the bed. I slowly walked over and gently shook her shoulder. "Applejack" I said softly. "AJ"

She groaned and slowly opened her eyes, lifting her head to look up at me. "Hey daddy" she said, yawning.

"Hey sweetheart" I said, smiling. "I have something for you. Well, really, for both of us" I showed her the brochure for the rodeo.

Applejack gasped, her emerald eyes widening. "A _rodeo?_ We're _really_ going!"

I nodded. "Yep, next week. I'll park my truck far enough away from the others and we'll sit inside and watch the rodeo from there"

"Oh daddy, _thank you!_" Applejack hugged me.

I laughed and hugged her back. "You're welcome sweetheart" I brushed her forelock aside and kissed her on the forehead, like I used to do when she was a filly. She giggled and hugged me tighter. I couldn't wait for next week, I was as excited about the rodeo as AJ was. Of course she had to call her sister and tell her all about it. I was happy that I had found something that she and I could go out and do together, if we did have to be careful about anyone seeing her. I knew it would be worth it though in the end. I lay in bed that night with happy thoughts, anticipating the rodeo just as much as Applejack. _"Next week is going to be great"_ I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning I woke up in good spirits. I was surprised, and more then a little startled, when I went into the kitchen and saw Christian sitting at the kitchen table. He smiled sheepishly when he saw me. "Uh, hey" he said. I blinked, then noticed Jillian standing at the counter, cleaning up some dishes.

She smiled. "Morning dad"

"Uh, morning" I said, moving to sit at the table across from Christian. "So, um... what are you two doing here so early?"

"Oh, just thought we'd drop by, say hi..." Jillian started, but she looked nervous.

"Jill, what's wrong?" Christian asked, moving to stand beside her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Uh, Christian, I need to talk to my dad for a sec"

Christian looked concerned, but nodded. He kissed Jillian on the cheek before he headed for the living room. Once he was gone, I turned to my oldest daughter. "Jillian, what's the matter? You look very nervous"

Jillian sighed. "I think it's time"

I blinked. "Time? for...?"

"Time for Christian to meet Applejack"

My eyes widened. "What? Jillian, we've talked about this..."

"Dad, Christian and I have been dating for almost 4 years and he's never met my sister. Heck, he doesn't even know i _have_ a sister" she sighed. "Dad, I..." she smiled a bit. "... I love him. And I'm tired of keeping AJ a secret. We can trust him, I _know_ we can" I sighed, looking into her eyes. I knew she trusted Christian, I did too. He was a great guy and it didn't exactly take a rocket scientist to see that he dearly cared for Jillian.

I sighed again, rubbing the back of my neck. "Maybe you're right Jill..."

"Where's Applejack?"

"She's in her room probably, still asleep"

"I'll go get her" before I could say anything, Jillian headed off toward Applejack's room.

Christian came back into the kitchen, looking confused. "Uh, sir..." I chuckled a little. Christian usually called me sir, even though I'd known him for 4 years. "... Is everything all right?"

I nodded. "Yes Christian. But, um... come into the living room. There's someone we'd like you to meet" Christian blinked, looking curious as we went into the living room.

A few minutes later, Jillian came over, looking nervous. "Christian, I, uh..." she sighed, brushing a hand through her hair. "... There's something I need to tell you. Something I've wanted to tell you for a while, but... well, it's a big secret, a _huge_ secret, and... Well, I just never knew how you'd react"

Christian looked worried now, and I laughed. "Don't worry, its northing bad. But... but you have to promise us you won't tell anyone. _Ever_"

"Uh... sure, I guess"

"Well Christian, I... I have a little sister"

Christian looked surprised. "A sister? What's the big secret about that?"

"Well, my sister is... different. _Very_ different from everyone else"

"I'm not going to judge her, if that's what you're thinking" Christian said, sounding almost hurt.

"No no Chris, it's nothing like that" Jillian said. "It's just that no one else knows about my sister. No one else can _ever_ know about her. So just _please_ promise us that you'll never tell"

Christian nodded. "All right, I won't ever tell anyone"

"Good" Jillian smiled a bit. "Well I'll go get her then" she turned and went into Applejack's room. After about a minute, my daughters came out into the living room. I looked at Christian. His eyes widened as soon as he saw Applejack, and I held my breath, suddenly wondering if we'd made a huge mistake. "Christian, this is my sister Applejack. AJ, this is my boyfriend Christian"

Applejack looked nervous as she approached the man. "Uh... n-nice to meet you" she stammered.

Christian looked shocked. "I-It's nice to... to m-meet you too" he stammered slowly. Jillian sat beside him and quickly started to explain everything to him. Soon the three of us were telling him about our lives over the past 15 years. Christian looked shocked for at least 45 minutes before he slowly started to relax a bit. After about an hour or so, he seemed to sort of accept the fact that there was a cartoon pony sitting in the living room. "Well this is quite a shock" he said once we were done telling him our story and he ran out of questions to ask us.

"Chris, you... you're not mad are you?" Jillian asked nervously.

"Mad? Why would I be mad? I'm shocked as heck, but I'm not mad. I understand why you kept her a secret for so long. It would be hard for me too" he took Jillian's hand in his. "But I'm _so_ glad you decided to let me meet her"

Jillian smiled, looking relieved. "I'm happy to hear you say that. I was afraid that..." she hesitated. "... I was afraid that once you found out, you... you'd be so freaked out that you'd break up with me"

"What?" Christian looked almost insulted. "Jill, I'd never break up with you, certainly not because of this" he smiled slightly. Jillian hugged him.

Applejack and I looked at each other, smiling. "Isn't it great daddy?" she asked, leaning against me.

I nodded, putting my arm around her. "Yeah sweetheart, it's _wonderful_"

...

Things were great. Better then great, they were _perfect_. It had been three weeks since we'd let Christian in on our family secret, and now it was almost as if he'd known all along. He and Applejack got along surprisingly well, and Jillian and I couldn't have been happier. But as it usually goes, something always seems to come up when everything is getting perfect. One day, the day before the rodeo, I was making some iced tea for Applejack, who was resting on the couch after feeding the animals. Then it happened. That _feeling_. The feeling that something was about to happen, I couldn't tell if it was good or bad, just a feeling that _something_ was going to happen. Something inevitable. When I heard a knock on the door, I was a little surprised. Jillian and Christian usually knock, but then they open the door and greet me before coming in. but there was just one knock, one small knock. Had I not been in the kitchen, I probably wouldn't have even heard it. Applejack heard it too, lifting her head from where she'd been lying against a pillow. "Uh, AJ, why don't you go to your room?"

"Sure thing daddy" AJ said, getting up and trotting off into her room. That was our policy for whenever someone knocked on the door. Applejack would go to her room, because we couldn't risk anyone finding out about her. I slowly approached the door, my heart beating nervously.

I slowly reached out and stopped. _"Don't open it"_ part of me was saying. _"Don't do anything, let them think you're not home"_ but the rational part of me was telling me to open the door, and in the end, the rational part won. With a slightly shaking hand, I slowly opened the door, my breath hitching at what I saw. A full size white mare was standing before me. She had flowing, sparkling mane and a unicorn horn protruding from her forehead. Elegant wings were folded against her sides and a crown was perched on her head. _"No"_ I thought. But I knew that this day would come. I've known for 15 years that it would happen one day. I was also a little surprised to see six other ponies standing around the princess.

"Uh..." Twilight Sparkle looked unsure of what she wanted to say. "Excuse me sir, but we... we're looking for a friend of ours..."

suddenly a pink streak zipped by and bounced into my entryway. "Oh boy, so _this_ is what an alien house looks like!" Pinkie Pie giggled. "It's so cool much cleaner then I expected, and... OOH, THERE'S A _KITCHEN!_ I'LL MAKE US SOME SNACKS!" before anyone could say anything, Pinkie bounced gleefully into the kitchen. I sighed, not bothering to go after her.

Rainbow Dash sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'll go keep an eye on her" she mumbled, walking past me into the kitchen.

I blinked, then turned back to the mare I knew to be Princess Celestia. "I'm a bit surprised" she said, her voice soft and almost calming. "You don't seem surprised by our presence"

"n-no" I stammered. "Of course not, I know who you all are"

Celestia looked surprised. "Oh?"

"Yeah. So... how can I help you?" I knew perfectly well why they were there, and I wanted so desperately to go away, even though I knew it was hopeless.

"We're here for our friend Applejack" Twilight said. "After much studying, I've deduced that she's somewhere in this universe. In this exact location"

I wanted so much to say, 'sorry, I don't know what you're talking about', and just shut the door in their faces. But I knew I couldn't do that. It was inevitable. I sighed, frowning. "She... she's in here"

"Really?" Celestia looked a little surprised.

I nodded. "Yeah... c-come in" I slowly opened the door a little more and stepped aside. Princess Celestia walked in along with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity. "Let's go to the living room" I said slowly. The ponies followed me. Celestia lay on the large rug that covered most of the living room floor, Rarity and Fluttershy sat on the couch, and Twilight went into the kitchen and brought Rainbow and Pinkie into the room.

"Uh, sir?" Rarity asked. "Where exactly _is_ Applejack?"

"She's... she's in her room" the ponies all looked surprised when I said 'her room'. "I... I'll go get her" I felt my heart hammering hard in my chest as I slowly walked into my daughter's room. I went over to where she was lying on her bed watching TV. It was ironic that she was watching My Little Pony. She had gotten used to the show, and enjoyed it quite a bit.

She looked up when I came in and frowned. "Daddy? What's wrong?"

I swallowed hard. "A-Applejack..." I quickly told her who was in the living room. I was a little surprised when she burst into giggles. _"She thinks I'm kidding"_ I thought.

"Oh daddy, good one! I almost believed you for a sec there!" her giggles died down when she saw that I wasn't laughing. "Uh, daddy... you _are_ joking... aren't you?"

I sighed. "AJ, please just... come with me sweetheart" Applejack nodded slowly, putting the show on pause before getting off her bed and following me into the living room. Her eyes widened when she saw the other ponies.

Their faces lit up. "APPLEJACK!" Pinkie cried, tackling her friend with a hug. "OH MY GOSH, WE'VE MISSED YOU _SO_ MUCH...!"

"Hey, what's the big idea!" AJ yelled, pushing Pinkie off of her. "What the heck?"

Pinkie frowned, her mane and tail instantly straightening. "A-Applejack...?" she stammered, looking like she might burst into tears.

"Darling, don't you recognize us?" Rarity asked, looking confused.

"_No!_ I've never seen any of y'all except on the TV! You're not supposed to be _real!_" a look of hurt flashed across the other's faces.

"Uh, AJ..." I started, sighing. "Sit down honey" I sat in my recliner and she immediately sat by my feet, looking at the other ponies.

"I don't understand" Twilight said. "Why is she acting so weird?"

"Well how long has she been gone?" I asked.

"15 days" Rainbow said.

My eyes widened. "15 _days?_"

"Yes, why? You seem shocked" Celestia said.

"She's been here a _lot_ longer then 15 days"

"How long?" Rarity asked.

I sighed. "15 _years_"

The pony's mouths fell open. "_15 years!_" Rainbow cried.

I nodded. "Yes. I found her when she was just a filly" i was no math whiz, but i guessed that one day in their universe must have been equal to one _year_ in the real world.

"No wonder she doesn't recognize us!" Twilight said.

"That's one thing I never understood though" I said. "Why she was so young. And how she even got here in the first place"

Rainbow suddenly looked guilty. "That... that's _my_ fault" she said softly, her ears drooping.

"You?"

She nodded. "Yes" she sighed, looking at Applejack. "We were all at Twilight's place. Lately she'd been experimenting with creating portals"

Twilight nodded. "Nothing too major, just portals that led to different parts of Ponyville"

"We were there waiting for Twilight to finish up with a potion so we could go on a picnic we'd been planning" Rarity said.

"I was getting bored" Rainbow said, looking guiltier by the second. "Applejack was standing by Twilight, watching her work. So I thought..." she swallowed. "...I thought it would be funny to prank her"

"It wasn't funny at all" Fluttershy said softly from her spot on the couch.

Rainbow sighed. "I was just going to startle her a little. Thought she wouldn't mind" she bit her lip. "So I snuck up behind her and jumped behind her, yelling really loud. She jumped all right, but she lost her balance and fell backward..."

"... Right into my portal" Twilight said. "We tried to get her back, but the portal closed before we could do anything"

"And we've been trying for _days_ to figure out where she'd gone" Pinkie said. "We thought we'd _never_ find her!"

"But then I recognized the place that the portal led too" Twilight said. "Which was... here"

I sighed. "It makes sense now. Except for why she was a filly when I found her"

"That was most likely some side effect from Twilight Sparkle's magic" Celestia said.

Applejack blinked, looking nervously at me. "D-Daddy? What happens now?"

I bit my lip, my heart beating hard in my chest.

"Well Applejack, you..." Celestia hesitated. "You'll have to come back to Ponyville with us..."

"_What!_" Applejack yelled, shaking her head. "Oh no, no way! This is my home! I have a family here, a _life!_ No way am I giving that up!"

"Applejack, dear, you don't belong in this world" Rarity said.

Twilight nodded. "Yes. I know it's hard to believe now, but..."

"Y'all are _nuts_ if you think I'm going with you _anywhere!_" Applejack cried.

"Applejack, they... they're right" I said, swallowing hard.

AJ looked at me. "Wh-What? Daddy..."

"Think about it sweetie. You have no _freedom_ here, not really. We always have to be so careful that no one sees you. But with them, you can be free to go wherever you want. You'll be with other ponies..."

"I don't _want_ to be with other ponies! I belong here with you and Jillian!"

Twilight blinked. "Jillian?"

"Her sister" I said quietly, realizing with a start that my other daughter had no idea what was going on right now. "Please, before we talk about this anymore, can I please call my other daughter?" Celestia looked hesitant. "_Please_, she... she needs to be here"

Celestia nodded. "Of course"

My heart hammered in my chest as I dialed Jillian's cell phone number.

"Hello?"

"Christian" I sighed. "Is Jillian there? It's... its important"

"Yeah, of course. Hold on a sec" I heard talking in the background and then Jillian's voice flooded through the phone.

"Hey dad! What's up?"

I sighed. "Jill, you need to come over right away"

"Why? Is something wrong...?"

"Jillian, _please_, just... just get over here"

"Okay dad, we'll be over soon" Jillian sounded worried as we hung up.

"She'll be here soon" I said quietly, more to AJ then anyone else.

Applejack nodded, looking upset. We sat in awkward silence while we waited. Occasionally one of the ponies would ask Applejack about her life. She answered hesitantly, as though she didn't quite trust the other ponies. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door opened and Christian and Jillian came in. "dad, what's going...?" Jillian started, her eyes widening when she saw the pony filled living room.

"Jillian!" Applejack tackled her sister with a hug. Jillian immediately hugged back, looking confused and shocked.

Christian had a similar expression on his face. "Wh-What... what's going on?" he asked slowly.

"They want to take me away!" Applejack said, hugging Jillian tighter.

Jillian's eyes widened. Twilight and the others quickly explained about how AJ had gotten here and their theory about why she'd arrived as a filly. "So..." Jillian said slowly. "... So you guys want AJ to go back to Ponyville?"

"It's where she belongs" Celestia said.

Jillian and I looked at each other. "Dad..."

"I think..." I swallowed. "... She needs to go with them"

"_What!_ Dad...!"

"Jill, listen" I said. "It's like I told your sister, she... she's better off with them"

Jillian sighed, swallowing as tears welled up in her eyes. Applejack looked at her hopefully, probably thinking her sister would take her side. "Dad's right Applejack" she said softly. "It's getting harder and harder for me and dad to hide you" she brushed a few hairs from her face and Christian put his hand on her shoulder.

"You belong with other ponies AJ" he said quietly.

"No! I belong with _you!_ Y'all are my family!"

"Applejack" Celestia said. "You must come with us... I'm truly sorry"

Applejack looked at the princess. I could tell by the look on her face that she was thinking, thinking hard. After what seemed like an eternity, she spoke. "Can... can't they come with me?"

"I'm afraid not my dear" Celestia said. "They do not belong in our world just as you do not belong here"

Applejack sighed, looking defeated.

"I'll have to perform a spell that will..." Twilight hesitated. "... That will remove all traces of her existence from here..."

"Wait, what? Why?" Christian asked.

"No one can ever find out she was here" Celestia said. "We can't risk anyone finding even the smallest trace of her existence"

"She... she's right" I said softly. "We can't risk anyone finding out that AJ was ever real"

Jillian nodded slowly, a few tears streaming down her face. Christian squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.

"It... won't hurt" Twilight said, her horn glowing as she approached Applejack. Celestia's horn began to glow too as she walked toward me, Jillian, and Christian.

"_Wait!_" I cried, making both mares stop. "P-Please, can we just have a minute to... to say goodbye?"

Celestia nodded and she and Twilight backed away. "Of course"

I sighed and stood from my chair. Jillian knelt in front of her sister. "Applejack" she said. "You... you are the _best_ sister anyone could ever ask for" she swallowed. "I can still remember the first day dad brought you home... I always knew you were brought to us for a reason. You brought so much happiness and joy into our lives. You've been such an angel and we've been _so_ blessed to have you in our lives. I..." she swallowed again, tears streaming down her face. "I love you _so much_. And..." she stroked AJ's forelock, running her fingers through her blond mane. "No matter what happens... you will _always_ be my little sister" Applejack sobbed and my daughters hugged tightly. I felt a lump in my throat as they pulled apart. Jillian kissed her sister's forehead and smiled sadly through her tears as she slowly stood and moved to stand beside me.

Then Christian slowly knelt down by Applejack. "AJ, uh..." he chuckled a little and I could see his eyes brimming with tears. "I know I'm not as close to you as your sister or dad, but... but you're really special and I'm... I'm going to miss you a lot" he put his hand on her shoulder.

"t-take care of my sister Christian" AJ said softly.

"I will... I really love Jill a lot"

Jillian's smile widened a bit and she linked her arm through mine.

"She really loves you too" Applejack said. They slowly leaned forward and hugged.

"Take care Applejack" Christian said.

"I... I will" Applejack said quietly. She and Christian pulled apart and he moved to stand beside Jillian, taking her hand in his.

I sighed and swallowed as I slowly approached my daughter. I knelt in front of her, trying to keep my emotions in check. "Daddy, I'm scared" AJ said.

I nodded slowly. "I know honey, I am too. But... but you have to be strong. It'll be all right" I sighed. "Applejack, I could go on forever about how much you mean to me and how much you've impacted our family" I smiled through the tears that were welling up in my eyes. "You've been such a wonderful, amazing daughter and I love you _so much_" I reached out and ran my fingers through her forelock. "I always knew this day would come... I wished that it wouldn't, but I knew that it would. I just savored the time we had together... the time _all of us_ had" I glanced at Christian and Jillian. Then I turned back to Applejack. "No matter what happens, I will _always_ be your father"

"And I'll always be your daughter" Applejack breathed, swallowing as tears brimmed in her eyes. "I love my life here daddy, I wouldn't trade the life we've had for _anything_... and even though you kept the truth a secret for so long, I know it was just because you were trying to protect me"

I nodded. "I love you AJ... I always will"

"I'll always love you too daddy"

I heard soft sniffling and turned. There wasn't a dry eye in the whole room. By that time, the cats had come into the living room to see what was going on. Applejack hugged each of them and told them goodbye, then turned back to me. "Goodbye daddy" she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

I sighed and pulled her into a hug. "Goodbye my little AJ" I whispered, sobbing quietly as we hugged. I felt arms wrap around me as Jillian and Christian joined in the hug. The four of us stayed that way for what seemed like forever.

"Applejack" Celestia said gently. "It's time to go dear"

Applejack sighed and took a deep breath. Twilight approached her, her horn glowing again when Applejack suddenly pulled back. "_Wait_, I... I need to get something first!" before anyone could say anything, she ran into her room. I leaned forward to look in and saw her take a piece of paper and a pencil and start writing something, holding the pencil firmly in her mouth. After writing something on the paper, she came back and set the paper on the coffee table, giving me and Jillian a long look before she took a deep breath and turned to Twilight. "I... I'm ready now"

Twilight nodded. "I'm truly sorry" she said, looking at all of us. "I wish there were another way... truly I do" her horn started to glow once more as she leaned toward AJ. Celestia walked over to Christian, Jillian, and me.

"Take good care of my sister" Jillian said.

Celestia nodded. "We will" she smiled sadly as her horn began to glow. I could feel warmth radiating from it as she leaned closer to us, her horn aimed at our foreheads. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Applejack turn toward us, giving me a sad smile. I sent her one in return as she turned back to Twilight, the purple unicorn's horn almost touching her forehead. After a few seconds a bright light flashed, covering the whole room. I felt a slight shock and when the light faded, the ponies and the princess were gone. Jillian, Christian, and I slowly looked at each other.

"You guys okay?" I asked slowly.

They nodded. "Yeah" Jillian said. "But... I don't get it"

"What?'

"I still remember her"

My eyes widened. "I do too"

"So do I" Christian said.

"But I thought Celestia wiped our memories!" Jillian said, shaking her head.

"I thought so too" Christian said.

I quickly ran into AJ's bedroom. All her stuff was gone. Her posters, the DVDs I'd bought her over the years, her books and games, everything. The TV was still there, and everything that had been in the room prior to me finding Applejack. But everything that had been added since then was gone. "Dad!" Jillian called. I ran back into the living room. All the pictures of me, Jillian, and AJ that had been throughout the house were all gone. Celestia had been right. Every single trace of Applejack's existence was gone.

"How can we still remember her?" Christian asked. "How can we still remember _anything_ that's happened?"

"Maybe..." Jillian said slowly. "Maybe that was all that could remain. Celestia knew how much we loved Applejack... maybe she trusted us enough to allow us to keep our memories"

I nodded. "You're probably right honey"

"Guys, look" Christian picked up a piece of paper from the table. The one Applejack had left.

I felt like my heart was going to stop beating as I slowly took the paper from him and unfolded it. In AJ's handwriting... or _mouth_writing I guess you could all it, was a letter addressed to me. I brushed away tears as I read the letter:

_Daddy,_

_I don't entirely understand, but I know that you wouldn't be making me do this if you didn't think it was best for me. So I trust your decision and will go with the other ponies, even if I don't really know them. But I do trust you, and so I know that this must be the right decision. The fact that I will never see you again makes me want to run out the backdoor and refuse to go with those ponies. But the thing is... I have that feeling that this is right. I don't want to believe this, but my heart is telling me this will happen, no matter what. Even if I refuse to go with them, I know it's no use fighting it. I feel that, despite what my head says, my heart is telling me that I need to go with them. I'll miss you so much daddy. You, and Jillian, and Christian. Y'all are my family, you'll always be my family, even though I probably won't remember you once I'm gone. I'm not even sure that you'll be able to read this letter, but I'm hoping it will be allowed to remain here. You've taught me so much... it's because of you that I got my Cutie Mark. You taught me to never give up and always keep trying and that is something I know I'll always remember. I love you all so much...when I return to wherever these ponies will take me, I won't remember you possibly. But deep inside my heart, you will continue to linger. All our happy memories will float in my head. They will be invisible, but they will be there still. I love you daddy. I love you so much. Even though by the time you've read this I'll have already been gone, I'll still love you, no matter what. Our love is too strong for it to completely fade away. Take good care of Jillian and the animals. And make sure Christian takes good care of Jillian too. I've had a feeling for a while now that their relationship is going to grow into something even more. Well daddy, in spite of things, I don't want to keep those other ponies waiting. No use prolonging the inevitable. To end this... I want to say, goodbye's not forever. One day, we'll meet again, I know it. Even though it doesn't sound possible at the moment, but hey, things change everyday. I know I said it once already in this letter, but I'll say it again. I love you daddy, I always will. And even though I won't remember you, I'll always remember the life lessons you taught me._

_Love, your daughter always, Applejack_  
_your little AJ_

I felt tears in my eyes as I finished reading the letter. I handed it to Jillian. She and Christian read it too and soon the three of us were sitting on the couch, just sitting and thinking, each in our own thoughts. We sat there for a while before Christian decided it was time for him to head home. "I guess I'll come back after I drive Chris home" Jillian said. I nodded and we hugged. "I love you dad"

I smiled a little. "I love you too honey" I walked outside with the two of them and watched as they got in Jillian's car and drove off. So many thoughts were filling my mind. Thoughts of Applejack and our life together. I wondered what she was doing right then. Was she reunited with Granny Smith and Big Mac? Was she having an adventure with her friends? I looked up at the sky and smiled a little. I would always love Applejack and I would always treasure the memories of the time we had together. My thoughts then drifted to the letter. Applejack had said that we would meet again someday. I could only hope that we would, even though I was certain that she had only written that to try and soften the emotional blow. "I love you Applejack" I whispered, a few tears streaming down my face. I would always remember my darling daughter and all the joy she brought into my life. I would love her forever. Applejack...

My Little AJ

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**I hope you enjoyed the story everyone, please don't forget to review! thank you**

**-FreddysNightmare1984**


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